Can I ask some silly FTM questions please?

[Honeybear30]

Mumsnet has been an amazing source of information, how did people ever manage without before?! But, I do have a few questions I'm a bit confused over and would love some advice from some more experienced ladies please. Hope they aren't too silly...

Do you still need to wind a breastfed baby?

Do I need a snowsuit thing for a newborn or can I just use a blanket?

Changing – everything says you should have stuff upstairs and downstairs to save going up and down so do I need a nappy pail (like a tommee tippee sangenic) upstairs and down?!

Nursing bras – when do I buy them? How do I know what size to get if my boobs are going to get massive as everyone tells me?

Nursing clothes – I have none, should I be buying stuff before baby gets here?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

Can't answer all of them but...

Snowsuit - depends when your baby is born and what the weather will be like. I used mine loads but DD was born in a snowy period. If you do get one, get one a size bigger as it's easier to manhandle them into it! I found it helpful when trying to get the right number of layers onto DD. You have to remember that babies need more help regulating their temperature, and if it is bloody cold out then they are just lying still in that cold, so it will be extra freezing! Still, hat and jacket and thick fleecey blankets might do it.

Changing - god yes, have stuff everywhere! Personally I think those nappy bins are the single biggest waste of money ever. 9 times out of 10 I just put the nappy straight outside. You can always get a normal cheap bin with a lid for the bedroom for night time changes if you don't want to traipse outside then, a normal lid should manage the smell for a few hours. Or just hurl it out the window into the garden to be collected in the morning

1. You should still try to wind a breastfed baby but if you forget occasionally it's not as much of a problem as it would be if formula feeding coz less air is taken in.

1. Snowsuits are a pain - not recommended in the car, but if baby is in the pram wearing one and falls asleep you have to wake them to take it off going inside. I'd recommend layered cardigans, jackets with no hood, and plenty of blankets.

1. Those nappy bins get smelly and horrible - keep nappies and wipes and nappy sacks both upstairs and downstairs and just throw nappies away after changing. Wet ones are fine in normal bin, dirty ones straight outside.

1. I bought a few comfort bras for the first few weeks of nursing and then got measured once my supply had settled.

1. Nursing clothes - vest under top, lift top up and pull vest down. No flesh on display, no expensive nursing clothes :)

Ok baby is due end of September so looks like hats and blankets are going to be okay initially. Then as it gets colder I will use cosy all in ones.

Interesting about the nappy bin, perhaps I have read an over enthusiastic review. Might have to rethink this one.

Loving the thought of hurling the dirty nappy out the window. My very elderly neighbours would be lol!

Thank you

The snowsuit depends on the time of year.

Make life easy for yourself with changing and don't waste your money on a special bin.

I bought nursing bras a month before I was due and that size seemed to be fine. You can get them from just about anywhere, I found Debenhams had a good selection.

You may not need special nursing clothes, just wear anything you can pop a boob out of. Alternatively, wear a vest top under your normal top. You can then pull the top up and the vest down and you remain covered.

Most importantly of all, enjoy your new baby.

Sorry, I forgot, you will still need to wind a breast fed baby but not as much as they are not swallowing as much air as they do on a bottle. I was told to look out for a bluish tinge above their top lip as a sign they have wind.

Glad I'm not the only one who sometimes chucks nappies out of an upstairs window, to put in the garden bin later

I love my nappy bin. The tommee tippee one is rubbish and I completely agree about the smell BUT the angel care one is amazing. Locks all smells away and is fantastic.
Mother care are good at measuring for bras when pregnant.
Personally I wouldn't rush out and buy lots of things for breastfeeding feeding just in case you are not able to (I bought bras etc expecting to bf but had a kidney infection and due to medication wasn't allowed to bf).

The wind thing is really individual. I spent six weeks trying to burp my bf baby and eventually realised she was never going to burp!

There's nothing more practical, diving! Especially out into the back garden. I never thought of doing it, then whenever I went back to my parents my mum was doing it. Nappies in bags, flung outside, and she'd collect them up in the evening at the same time she was collecting the cat poo

Winding yes but not as important as for formula fed
Snow suit not essential unless going to be in a sling carrier on u outside

Changing have a mat upstairs n one slid under sofa n downstairs have little basket with nappies wipes n nappy bags those bins are vile n refills expensive

Nursing clothes never had a need for them just wore normal ones.

Well this thread has taken an unexpected twist- nappy flinging! The nursery window sadly backs out onto my extension roof, so I'll have to give it a good fling if I choose to use this method! Sounds cheaper than a sangenic though lol.

Good point buttercup about not spending too much, I'd be annoyed if I can't breastfeed but then have beautiful expensive nursing bras!

I'll bear in mind the winding as well, give it a go but not stress over it.

Hi,

Winding a BF baby, in my experience (I EBF my first DS for 1 year and FF my second DS as I didn't enjoy BF at all, personal preference, plenty of people I know love it) anyway, I had to wind just as much with both, my first DS (EBF) suffered terrible colic so whilst some people may tell you rubbish like breasted babies don't get wind or colic, it's not true, it just depends on the baby!

First DS was born in march, never used a snow suit, second DS born in sept and he went through 4 of them, but we did a lot of walking to & from school regardless of weather

Changing things are helpful on all floors, we have a basket with nappies, wipes & sacks on 3 floors because it's just easier! Nappy bins total waste of money IMO, but having said that I have to out them outside straight away because I have the most vile dog in the world who will steal, shred and then eat the contents of a poo filled nappy.... Disgusting!

Nursing bras – don't until your milk comes in, in hospital just use your maternity bras, you can pull the curtains for a little privacy but you'll want to watch carefully what you & baby are doing anyway to check latch at first!

Nursing clothes – use layers of normal clothes, nursing clothes are expensive and really not needed, a good nursing bra that has a small panel that folds down leaving material at the top of the breast will ensure you maintain your modesty!

It'll all become second nature before you know it! x

Don't bother with a special nappy bin.
Buy a snowsuit if the weather gets really cold (clue in the name!)
Don't bother with special nursing clothes. Wear a vest under a tshirt if you want.
Buy some soft bras for the early days then get fitted after a few weeks.
Two change mats/stations are useful but not essential.

Assume your baby will need winding. Very few babies don't need winding.

I never particularly winded my two b/f baubles, unless they seemed unhappy after a feed (rare), so be guided by your baby.

We definitely needed snow suits. But, I don't drive so we walk everywhere and they would have been freezing walking for several hours each day without. Definitely buy big as easier to get on. I never bothered taking them off when we got home and they were asleep, just unzipped it a bit to let some air in. But official advice would say you should, so make your own choice on that one...

Nappy bin - we just have one, the Tommy Tippee one. It lives next to the changing unit in baby's room and, once past a few weeks old, we always took them upstairs to change. If changing downstairs, just chuck straight in the outside bin....

Nursing bras - I got measured for mine at about 38 weeks and that seemed to work fine.... I got a coule of nursing tops before and then a few more after, once I worked out what I liked / needed.

Hope that helps! Good luck with everything ;).

I never managed to get any wind from my breastfed dd's but my understanding is that you should try anyway.
I used a snowsuit when it was really cold (dd2 was a December baby) but mostly we had a really thick (like snowsuit thick) jacket and blankets as it was easier to take off when we got inside and she was asleep.
I've never bothered with those bins that make nappy sausages but do have a nappy bin (just a bin with a very well fitted lid). Currently trying to decide whether to have two but will be using cloth nappies so can't fling out of the window!
I bought a couple of sleep bras for straight away as I won't be going far from bed and they allow for a lot of size variance. I'll get fitted properly after baby arrives (probably on my trip to town to the registry office).
I've never bought feeding clothes, just made sure I wore clothes with easy access (no shift dresses that you have to pull the whole dress up to get at your boobs-ive never done that, honest!)

I had to wind my bf baby she seemed to be a big gulper! - she got terrible tummy ache and made a right racket straining and trumping if I didn't.

I a snow suit bought for me but had an Xmas baby and liked to get out and about a lot!

I love my angel care nappy bin and still use it now 19 months on! We use it upstairs. Downstairs we could pretty much take nappies straight outside. Wait for a deal on them and get refills from Amazon.

I'm a fan of looking good in my clothes whether pregnant, breastfeeding or not so I found nursing clothes a bit grumpy for my liking! I wore lots of pretty shirts and blouses with bf vest tops underneath.

I bought my bf bras towards end of pregnancy - they do go massive when milk comes in but settle down after a bit.

Good luck!!! And remember asda/tesco is always open these days so you can always send other half/ relatives out to buy you stuff!

Just to stand up for the Sangenic bin really! I love ours but we don't have an outside bin as we put our rubbish in refuse sacks. So it really smells a hell of a lot less than a normal bin does with a couple of days of nappies in it.

Do you still need to wind a breastfed baby? Depends on the baby but often yes.

Do I need a snowsuit thing for a newborn or can I just use a blanket? Depends on time of year but if it's winter then I always put mine in an all in one coat thing.

Changing – everything says you should have stuff upstairs and downstairs to save going up and down so do I need a nappy pail (like a tommee tippee sangenic) upstairs and down?! I used to change mine all over the place. Got the hang of doing it on my lap, which is very convenient. I used to bag them in a nappy sack and chuck them out the back door or out of the window to land by the bin if upstairs.

Nursing bras – when do I buy them? How do I know what size to get if my boobs are going to get massive as everyone tells me? I always buy mine at about 38 weeks.

Nursing clothes – I have none, should I be buying stuff before baby gets here? What are nursing clothes? Never used them. I just avoided dresses whilst breast feeding.

nappy flinging will write that down haha

I'm also FTM so very interested in this thread. I'm hoping to BF so the winding (or lack of) bit is interesting. Here are some things I've done so far, which may or may not be useful!

1. Bought a 2 pack of nursing bras off eBay for £6 new, bought my current size but they are cotton, non wired and have several different sizings at the back. I figure they'll do until the time I can get properly measured and if BF doesn't work out I've only wasted £6
2. Nursing clothes.... I've gone through my current clothes and put aside anything the buttons down the front and I plan to buy some Primark vests in a bigger size to wear underneath, team this with my staple maternity jeans and I'm hoping to look sort of ok (yes I'm probably kidding myself) Maybe add a pretty scarf for good measure?
3. Also planning to keep changing stuff upstairs/downstairs so I've got a pretty storage box to match my living room!!! (absolutely hate clutter = delusional FTM!)

I am wondering about bedding if anyone has any tips? How many layers? Assuming baby will wear a vest then sleepsuit, how many other blankets should I use????

I definitely had to windfeed a breast fed baby though does appear to depend on the child. Took us about 2/3 horrendous hours of a crying DS on the first night home in the early hours (having been discharged at 9pm) that you also need to wind a colostrum only fed baby - so don't wait til your milk comes in.

I had a morrck hoodie for my september baby, purely to avoid waking him when we went into/out of buildings.

It was a godsend. We had the snowiest winter in a long time that year (2009) and he was snug on every school run in that with another blanket tucked over him.

I loved it so much i've bought one for my niece/nephew due next month.

Do you still need to wind a breastfed baby?
Mine needed it! god the burps she used to bring up. She couldn't settle unless she was really, really thoroughly burped. Irish catholic baby wisdom for burping technique: sit her on your knee, nice straight back (the baby, not you ), use one hand to gently extend her chin up (opens the airway) and pat / rub her back gently. Keep going for longer than you think is reasonable. Oh, the burps you'll get!

Do I need a snowsuit thing for a newborn or can I just use a blanket?
I had a November baby and she actually never wore a snowsuit. Snowsuits more needed for mobile kids I imagine. Also depends on your pram / buggy. We had a bugaboo bee and the newborn cocoon (like a wee sleeping bag) was brilliant. Also found the Aden + Anais large muslins, bamboo ones, wonderful for keeping her warm without adding weight. She was toasty.

Changing – everything says you should have stuff upstairs and downstairs to save going up and down so do I need a nappy pail (like a tommee tippee sangenic) upstairs and down?!
No advice, we lived in a flat that was smaller than most dogs' kennels according to my DBro
Never had a nappy bin though, or used those stupid little nappy bags, so unnecessary. Just had a normal bin with liner that got emptied every night.

Nursing bras – when do I buy them? How do I know what size to get if my boobs are going to get massive as everyone tells me?
I am usually small breasted, they grew a lot during pregnancy, and then fluctuated massively in the first few months of BF. I LOVED my bravado bra, I bought it in pregnancy, it was non wired, comfy enough to sleep in, then saw me through BF, at which point I burned it. No, I didn't really, but I bloody would have if I weren't concerned about toxic fumes

Nursing clothes – I have none, should I be buying stuff before baby gets here?
I wouldn't buy nursing clothes per se, so many of them are ugly, but think about what you have that might work. Shirts / shirt dresses are great. Cardigans too. Wearing two tops layered, one you pull up and one down, also works well.

rosie buy a digital thermometer for your / the baby's room. it will stop you going mad wondering if it's too hot or too cold. We have this one and it's been brilliant, really reliable. Also gives you humidity.

In a room that was 18C (recommended is 16-20C) we did vest, sleep suit, one of these muslins which are so light but warm and one cotton blanket folded in two.

This is the Bravado bra.